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05-18-2016, 02:46 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2016
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The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
Why does greater size have a discount, exactly?
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05-18-2016, 03:00 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Apr 2015
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
As a crude patch for the fact that being a giant creature would otherwise be way too expensive. It's not a very good patch in my opinion, I myself prefer different ST scaling that makes each +1 ST have impact whether you are superman or a mouse.
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05-18-2016, 03:21 PM | #3 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
Being larger tends to necessitate having higher ST to compensate for the increased equipment weight. In fact, armour weights are rather unforgiving. Also, being large = being easier to get hit = needing more HP to compensate. IMHO SM is still a net drawback at its current cost, and cheaper ST is a benefit that is rather situational/campaign-specific.
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05-18-2016, 05:40 PM | #4 |
formerly known as 'Kenneth Latrans'
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Wyoming, Michigan
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
I would prefer just giving high SM a negative point cost based on how big you are relative to the campaign norm (something like -15 or -25 for the first +1 SM, -10 or -15 for +2, and -5 per each +1 SM thereafter) and note how much ST and Move a creature of a given size ought to have in terms of its absolute size. Being big is mostly advantageous due to being strong, but in a fantasy game neither one necessarily follows the other.
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05-18-2016, 09:26 PM | #5 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
Size Modifier has numerous facets that many games overlook making it more variable of a disadvantage than most.
I'm not a fan of effectively penalizing the not super strong of large characters.
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05-24-2016, 12:55 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Hmm, looks like Earth, circa CE 2020+
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
Quote:
I agree the value of ST is situational/campaign-specific; many of the players in my TL10 150-point-PC games purchased lower-than-average ST to get extra points; I don't think any PC in the TL8 Supers campaign has ST below 10.
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05-19-2016, 02:10 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
I like that rule. In my campaigns where the best defences are cover or not being seen at all, being larger is a major disadvantage. Cheaper strength seems like a fair way of offsetting the downside of being a bigger target.
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05-19-2016, 02:22 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
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One is that you get less points back for being big if you're less strong, when being weak probably makes being big even worse. The other is that if you are big and strong, even with the discount you're paying a lot of points for something which will in many respects be a net loss in a game like you describe. I would be surprised if there's any case where the ST discount will make being big over-powered, but that doesn't mean that it's good.
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05-19-2016, 02:25 AM | #9 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
The higher the TL the more disadvantageous positive SM, and the less advantageous high strength, becomes.
But yeah, it is odd to discount one thing that's only loosely connected to what's actually disadvantageous.
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05-19-2016, 03:07 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: The "Size Discount for ST -- Why?" Discussion
Quote:
On the flip side, the slightly-larger but super-strong character (SM +1 and ST 110) saves ~100 points, thus his SM gave him 100 points.
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Tags |
discount, size, size modifier, strength |
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